Kathy Weiland, age 12, of Denton, Tex., for her question:
WHAT CAUSES EPILEPSY?
Epilepsy is a disorder of certain nerve cells in the brain. Doctors do not know the basic causes of epilepsy.
Many epileptic patients have some brain damage due to infection, injury or a tumor. An inheritable tendency to develop epilepsy occurs among the families of many of these patients. Other cases involve neither brain damage nor a hereditary tendency.
Epilepsy cannot be spread from one person to another. About half of one percent of all the people in the world have the disorder.
An attack of epilepsy, called an epileptic seizure, occurs when certain nerve cells in the brain suddenly release a large burst of electrical energy. Normally, the brain cells produce some electrical energy, which flows through the nervous system and activates the muscles.
The brain of an epileptic patient sometimes fails to limit or to control this release of energy. The result can be one of three chief types of epileptic attacks: grand mal, petit mal and psychomotor.
In the grand mal attack, the most severe type of epileptic seizure, the victim suddenly loses consciousness. He fails unless he is supported and his muscles jerk. Most grand mal seizures last a few minutes, after which the patient goes into a deep sleep.
During a petit mal attack, a mild type of seizure, the victim loses awareness of his surroundings for only a few seconds. He appears confused, but he does not fall. Many of these seizures are not even noticed. Most petit mal attacks occur in children.
In a psychomotor attack, the patient acts withdrawn and behaves strangely for a few minutes. The victim may suddenly roam around the room or tug at his clothes.
A person with epilepsy can suffer a seizure at any time. Some have frequent attacks while others may rarely have them. Attacks may occur at night or during the day and for no apparent reason.
Doctors treat epilepsy with drugs that can either reduce the number of seizures or prevent them entirely. Most persons with epilepsy can lead almost normal lives.
In most cases, the first seizure occurs during childhood. Treatment should then start at once. The earlier that treatment begins, the better the results.
In certain cases, where only one area of the brain triggers epileptic attacks, surgical removal of that area can lead to a complete cure.
In the mid 1970s, doctors started using brain pacemakers to treat certain cases of epilepsy that did not respond to drugs. The pacemaker electrically stimulates the cerebellum, a part of the brain, and prevents seizures.
Most regular epileptic seizures have no direct relationship to the emotional state of the patient. An attack will come for no obvious reason.